Annex I addresses oil pollution prevention. Annex I is applicable to oceangoing tankers over 150 gross tons and all other oceangoing ships over 400 gross tons. Requirements include oily waste discharge limitations, oily-water separating equipment, monitoring and alarm systems for discharges from cargo areas, cargo pump rooms and machinery space bilges, construction of cargo and ballast tanks, crude oil washing and inert gas systems, as well Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (SOPEP).
The U.S. implements MARPOL 73/78 Annex II by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), codified within 33 USC 1901. The implementing regulations are in 33 CFR 151.
Ships to which Annex I MARPOL 73/78 is applicable are also required to have an International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) Certificate. Annex I, Chapter 2 and 33 CFR 151.19. Issuance of the IOPP Certificate verifies that the vessel is in compliance with the requirements of Annex I and that any required equipment is on board and operational.
Annex I also requires each vessel to maintain an Oil Record Book (ORB) to record all oil transfers and discharges. Annex I, Regulation 17 & 36, 33 CFR 151.25. The Coast Guard’s most recent update to the Oil Record Book was in 2007. A copy is available to all U.S. vessel owners and operators subject to the Oil Record Book requirements through any local Captain of the Port/Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection. Vessel operators are encouraged to obtain and use the latest edition of the Oil Record Book (Rev 01-07). The Coast Guard is currently revising the Oil Record Book to comply with the latest MARPOL Annex I requirements. Until a revised ORB is published, vessel operators should maintain copies of Resolution MEPC 187(59) and MEPC Circular 736 revision 2 on board their vessels. Vessel Masters and/or Chief Engineers should attach a copy of the CG-CVC Oil Record Book letter, Serial # 756, dated August 21, 2013, with enclosure, to the existing Oil Record Book and incorporate changes from Annex 3 of MEPC 187(59) to the existing ORB. (See attachments in the upper right corner of this page.)
Regulation 12A - Oil fuel tank protection. Regulation 12A establishes design requirements for protectively located fuel tanks for all ships with an aggregate oil fuel capacity of 600 cubic meters (m3) and above which are delivered on or after august 1, 2010, as defined in new regulation 1.28.9 of Annex I. (the text of Regulation 12A is found in Resolution MEPC.141(54) or in the MARPOL - Consolidated Edition 2006 on page 419.)
COMDT CG-CVC (Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance) and the Marine Safety Center have received questions from Coast Guard field offices and from the marine industry as to the extent ships must meet regulation 12A that undergo a major conversion as defined in regulation 1.28.9 of Annex I.
Under the MARPOL Annex I regulatory framework found in regulations 12A and 1.28.9, a ship that undergoes a major conversion is treated the same as a vessel delivered on or after august 1, 2010, irrespective of what provision in regulation 1.28.9 triggers the major conversion determination. Therefore, a ship that undergoes a major conversion is treated the same as a new vessel for regulation applicability, in which all fuel tanks - both new/modified and existing shall comply with the provisions of regulation 12A.
U.S. ships that are required to hold an IOPP certificate, such as ships that engage in voyages to ports or offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of other parties to MARPOL and ships enrolled in the Alternate Compliance Program, regulation 12A applies to all fuel tanks on ships delivered on or after august 1, 2010 as defined in regulation 1.28.9, as well as to both new/modified and existing fuel tanks on ships that undergo a major conversion on or after the dates defined in regulation 1.28.9 of Annex I.
U.S. ships that are not required to hold an IOPP certificate need not presently comply with regulation 12A, but are encouraged to comply in light of the coast guard’s intention to revise domestic regulations that will implement regulation 12A.
The Marine Environment Protection Committee, at its sixty-second session (11 to 15 July 2011), approved guidelines for a shipboard oily waste pollution prevention plan and agreed to disseminate by means of an MEPC circular. The Guidelines are intended to assist shipowners and operators in the development of shipboard oily waste pollution prevention plans for machinery spaces of ships to support the environmental objectives required by the ISM Code. Please see the "Guidelines" in the upper right corner of this page.
